New York Launches ‘Green New Deal’ for 100% Carbon-Neutral Energy by 2040

The Big Apple has announced the launch of a “Green New Deal” initiative. New York governor Andrew Cuomo made the announcement responding to the call of environmentalists who wanted a bold climate action plan.

The Plan outlines Cuomo’s calls for a “globally unprecedented” ramp-up in renewable energy deployments. Through this New York seeks to achieve 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2040, and ultimately to eliminate its entire carbon footprint.

The briefing read:

Amidst the Trump Administration’s assault on the environment and in order to continue New York’s progress in the fight against climate change, Governor Cuomo is announcing New York’s Green New Deal, a nation-leading clean energy and jobs agenda that will put the state on a path to carbon neutrality across all sectors of New York’s economy.

Former California Governor Jerry Brown signed a similar order last year which called for the Golden State to achieve carbon neutrality economy-wide by 2045. California also passed legislation to achieve 100 percent clean electricity in the same year. If Cuomo’s 100 percent carbon-free electricity goal is approved by the state legislature, New York will officially have one of the most aggressive — and legally binding — clean energy target in US.

As part of the Green New Deal, Governor Cuomo is proposing a mandate of 100 percent clean, carbon-free electricity in New York State by 2040, the most aggressive goal in the United States and five years sooner than the target recently adopted by California.

The cornerstone to New York’s Green New Deal is increasing the energy standards from a previous 50% to 70% of Renewable Energy in their electricity mix by 2030.

The outlined plan is as follows:

• Nearly quadrupling New York’s offshore wind target to 9,000 megawatts by 2035, up from 2,400 megawatts by 2030
• Doubling distributed solar deployment to 6,000 megawatts by 2025, up from 3,000 megawatts by 2023
• More than doubling new large-scale, land-based wind and solar resources through the Clean Energy Standard
• Maximizing the contributions and potential of New York’s existing renewable resources
• Deploying 3,000 megawatts of energy storage by 2030

Cuomo has also announced $1.5 billion in competitive awards to support 20 large-scale solar, wind and energy storage projects across upstate New York. These projects are expected to add 1,650 megawatts of capacity and generate enough renewable energy to power nearly 550,000 homes. All projects are expected to be operational by 2022 and create more than 2,600 short- and long-term jobs in the process.

To hit the 6,000-megawatt target, the Cuomo administration is expected to direct the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to double the NY-Sun incentive program. To ensure that clean energy is affordable and accessible for low-income and underserved communities, Cuomo will also direct NYSERDA and the Department of Public Service to expand their Solar For All program and couple it with energy savings opportunities.

As for Cuomo’s 100 percent carbon-free electricity goal, it will be part of the state budget, which still has to go through the legislature.

Separate from the clean energy targets, Cuomo’s Green New Deal will create New York’s first statutory Climate Action Council. The council will evaluate a wide range of options for making the state carbon-neutral, including the feasibility of a new multistate emissions reduction program that covers all sectors of the economy.